Improvement in thimbles



M. D. OHIPLBY.

Thimble.

No. 222,572. Patented Dec. I6, 1879.

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/CITTEET= L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARsHAL D. GHIPLY, on NEw YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THIMBLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,572, dated December 16, 1879 application filed September 8, -1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARsHAL D. GHIPLEY,

of New York city, county and State of New' York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Thimbles, of which the following is a specification.

My inventipn aims to lprovide a thimble adapted to tightly t on fingers of different sizes; and thevessential feature of my invention may be stated to consist in constructing the thimble. with a springzholding jaw or jaws on the interior of the socket, adapted to grasp the finger-tip and retain the thimble firmly thereon, without regard to the greater or less thickness of the finger.

Figure 1 of the drawings annexed presents a vertical section of my improved thimble, and Fig. 2 an inverted plan thereof.

The common thimble, as is well known, is retained upon the linger-tip by simply tightly socketing the linger within the conical hollow of the thimble. Hence, asindividual fingers vary considerably in size, and as each finger requires an exact size of thimble, a large number of sizes have thus to be kept in stock by the dealer.

Now, according to my invention, I construct the body of the thimble ot of, say, average or ample size for' all ordinary ngers, and I provide its socket with one or more spring-jaws, b b, which, when the finger-tip is forced into the socket, grasp the same' and retain the thimble rmly in place, thus enabling one size ci thimble to suit a great many sizes of iin gers, and thus requiring but two or three sizes of thimbles to suit extreme as well as all ordinary-cases. This construction has also the additional advantage that a circulation of air is provided between the finger and the sides of the thimble-socket, which produces a more comfortablesensation in the fingertip, obviating the hot moist feeling which occurs with the ordinary tight-tting thimble, which completely incluses the finger-tip.

The spring-holding jaw or jaws b may be of any suitable number-one, two, or more. I prefer, however, to construct the jaw or jaws in the form of a U, the arched end being soldered to the tip of the thimble, as illustrated, by which it secures the additional advantage of re-enforcing the tip and imparting much greater strength and durability thereto, while each jaw extends to the mouth of the socket, and is of a broad form with a concave face, to readily grasp the finger, as shown best in Fig. 2.

I prefer to construct the spring in the form shown, of brass; but hard rubber or other material may be used, or the spring maybe formed of soft vulcanized rubber in the shape of a concave cap or ring, inserted within the thimblesocket in the same position and with the same eifect as the U-spring illustrated.

-When the spring is formed of sheet metal I prefer to perforate it with fine perforations, and when it is formed of rubber I also prefer to perforate it in the same manner, so as to allow of the escape of heat and moisture from the inger.

What I claim as my invention is The combination, with a sewing-thimble, of elastic spring-grasping jaws, xed to the interior or socket thereof, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

MARSHAL D. .CHIPLESL Witnesses:

GHAs. M. HIGGINS, J oHN E. GAVIN. 

